Characteristics of patients who needed intensive care and issues experienced at the core disaster base hospital during the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes

Acute kidney injury is common in critically ill patients, with ultrasound recommended to exclude renal tract obstruction. Intensive care unit clinicians are skilled in acquiring and interpreting ultrasound examinations. Intensive Care Medicine Trainees wish to learn renal tract ultrasound. We sought to demonstrate that intensive care unit clinicians can competently perform renal tract ultrasound on critically ill patients. Thirty patients with acute kidney injury were scanned by two intensive care unit physicians using a standard intensive care unit ultrasound machine. The archived images were reviewed by a Radiologist for adequacy and diagnostic quality. In 28 of 30 patients both kidneys were identified. Adequate archived images of both kidneys each in two planes were possible in 23 of 30 patients. The commonest reason for failure was dressings and drains from abdominal surgery. Only one patient had hydronephrosis. Our results suggest that intensive care unit clinicians can provide focussed renal tract ultrasound. The low incidence of hydronephrosis has implications for delivering the Core Ultrasound in Intensive Care competencies.

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Long-Term Prevalence of Disaster-Related Deep Vein Thrombosis in Minamiaso Village After the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes: A Prospective Cross-Sectional Analysis

Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness ◽

10.1017/dmp.2021.271 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Hidenori Onishi ◽

Osamu Yamamura ◽

Hiromasa Tsubouchi ◽

Takeshi Hirobe ◽

Ikuko Kosugi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Deep Vein Thrombosis ◽

Recovery Phase ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Portable Ultrasound ◽

Entire Cohort ◽

Vein Thrombosis ◽

The 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes ◽

Long Time ◽

Deep Vein ◽

2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes

Abstract Objective: This study aimed to examine the prevalence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) among evacuees in Minamiaso, a village which was temporarily isolated after the earthquakes, from the acute to recovery phase after the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes (GLIDE no: EQ-2016-000033-JPN). Methods: This prospective study, which was approved by Fukui University Medical Research Ethics Committee (approval no. 20160024 and 20160089), enrolled 181 evacuees (73.9 ± 11.6 y) who participated in a series of 3 DVT screenings using portable ultrasound machines conducted over 19 mo. All participants completed a questionnaire before the screenings, and none of the participants attended all 3 screenings. Data analysis was performed using EZR version 1.41. Results: The DVT prevalence was 14.3% (79.4 ± 8.2 y) at first screening of evacuees staying in shelters and 18.5% (71.5 ± 13.1 y) and 12.2% (72.8 ± 10.9 y) in second and third screenings of evacuees staying in temporary housing, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed age ≥75 y and alcohol consumption as independent risk factors in the entire cohort and in patients aged ≤74 y, respectively. Conclusions: A high DVT prevalence over a long time period of 19 mo was observed where survivors were temporarily isolated after the disaster.

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